(Reuters) – A jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, on Friday on all charges relating to his fatal shooting of two men and wounding of a third during last year’s tumultuous racial justice protests in Wisconsin, determining the teenager had acted in self-defense.
The following are reactions to the verdict:
DERRICK JOHNSON, NAACP PRESIDENT AND CEO, ON TWITTER
“The verdict in the #KyleRittenhouseTrial is a reminder of the treacherous role that white supremacy and privilege play within our justice system.”
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION ON TWITTER
“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
JULIAN CASTRO, DEMOCRATIC POLITICIAN, ON TWITTER
“You know damn well that if Kyle Rittenhouse were Black he would have been found guilty in a heartbeat – or shot dead by cops on the scene.”
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION ON TWITTER
“Despite Kyle Rittenhouse’s conscious decision to travel across state lines and injure one person and take the lives of two people protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake by police, he was not held responsible for his actions. Unfortunately, this is not surprising.”
SHANNON WATTS, GUN CONTROL ADVOCATE, ON TWITTER
“NOT GUILTY: A white teenager got his hands on a semiautomatic rifle, showed up at a protest in support of Black lives, killed two people and wounded another, traumatized a community — and due to our lax gun laws and culture of extremism, no one was held accountable.”
BLACK VOTERS MATTER GROUP ON TWITTER
“Disappointed but not surprised. This is not justice. This is not accountability. However, this is America.”
(Reporting by Maria Caspani, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
